Tuner01 Caliper Cover and Gen2 Solara Conflict

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Having just returned from my Toyota Dealer, it seems that Tuner01 Caliper Covers will not fit on a 2005 SLE Convertible. Lending the service writer and mechanics credulity on this issue, they said that the Solara's "floating" caliper design doesn't allow for the covers to be mounted w/o them striking the wheel when going over bumps. Bummer.

I'm still waiting to hear back from Tuner01 for confirmation.

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Conflict confirmed! Looks like it'll be caliper painting for yours truly.

"Out of curiosity, since the stock SLE wheel shows the caliper, how much more would it have cost to make it attractive from the factory?" he asked rhetorically.

[PhreakdOut]

It's a matter of how much paint prep time do you want to spend. More time = better appearance.

I tried sanding the calipers by hand to make sure they were free of debris and had a smooth surface. But there were still pockets where the paint just wouldn't stick. All in all, I think they came out looking good, but next time I'm going to use a dremel to get into the nooks and crannys and polish the surface a little better.

Check out this previous thread. I posted some pics there of my calipers and decals used. (When in doubt, use the search function. It may have been discussed before)

http://solaraguy.org/viewtopic.php?t=17158

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I found the easiest, quickest route to produce painted calipers: Pay someone else to do it.

It cost about $300 but the covers were $220 + an hour of labor so it about evens out.

[importtuner2oo4]

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I found the easiest, quickest route to produce painted calipers:

Pay someone else to do it.

It cost about $300 but the covers were $220 + an hour of labor so it about evens out.

$300 to paint the calipers?!? That's a lot, don't ya think? I paid nowhere near that amount 2 years ago and they still look good...

[PhreakdOut]

Sometimes you can't pay them enough to do as good of a job that you would on your own car.

Honestly, this is no big deal to do. Same with the covers. If you can change a tire, then you're half way there.

Let's hook up at the show this weekend and we can go into it in detail.